Though regular postgraduate tech programmes will be there, this is not to be its focal area. The institute authorities want the campus to have advanced laboratories, run incubation programmes and become an industry hub which will attract international and national industries to set up their R&D infrastructure here. It shall also be a nodal centre for the larger technology parks being set up around the institute in Kharagpur.

"The Kolkata campus shall be mandated to promote an inter-disciplinary structure to incubation programmes, multi-disciplinary academic programmes, advanced research and development activities. We will also have some PG programmes in the emerging areas. But all this can start only if we get possession of the land!" said PP Chakraborty, dean of the institute’s sponsored research initiatives, who is in charge of drawing up the plans for the new campus.

"We are looking at helping tech professionals who already have a basic degree and do not need to stay on the campus for a full-time programme," Chakraborty added.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur’s Vinod Gupta School of Management is starting two MBA programs for working executives at it Kolkata and Bhubhaneswar campuses. Working on a 3-year structure that will allow participants to work while they study, the courses are largely targeted towards the local population of each city they shall function in. While the Executive MBA at the Kolkata campus has a general management bent the Knowledge Industries MBA (KIMBA) at the Bhubhaneswar campus would focus on the IT and ITES sectors, explained EMBA coordinator Prof Gautam Sinha.

The intakes for both the programs would be 15 to 30 students each while the minimum eligibility will be three years of work experience and either an engineering education or post-graduate education in commerce, science or economics. More about the application system to the courses on the VGSoM website.

Prima facie, there are few differences between the EMBA and KIMBA except for a couple of core courses. The IT/ITES focused KIMBA has courses such as Technology Management and Services Management, which in the EMBA are replaced by International Management and IT & Business Applications Laboratory. Interestingly, the KIMBA has two courses on Financial Accounting while the EMBA has none. Both courses cost Rs 6 lakhs in fees, including a one-year international immersion program, which according to Prof Sinha may be carried out with one of IIT Kharagpur’s 99 tie-ups with various international institutions.

While both the courses look similar to 3-year part-time MBA courses in structure and content, Prof Sinha argues that several executive MBA courses across the world follow the part-time model. While that may be true, popular executive MBA programs in the USA or Europe wrap up in an year’s time, recognizing that the opportunity cost for working executives to stay away from work is high. To that extent, VGSOM’s Executive programs seem like 3-year part-time MBAs that give you an Executive MBA degree at the end, thus keeping you away from the stigma attached to the ‘part-time’ bit of part-time MBA.

Prof Sinha defends the three-year pattern of VGSOM’s Executive MBAs saying, “One-year or two-year programs are high pressure situations which might not be conducive for people with families.”

As the country marches ahead on the path of progress its energy needs are continuously growing, the state-owned Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) is all geared up to rise to this challenge. The entity is even mulling going public to raise funds for its aggressive expansion plans. All such details were unveiled at Kolkata yesterday by the union minister of state for power Jairam Ramesh. …

He added that DVC would set up a world-class research and development centre at Rajarhat Township near Kolkata, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, at an investment of Rs.100 crore, for which land has already been acquired.

Now we have some idea on what is happening with IIT Kharagpur’s branch campus plan in Kolkata. Orissa should rope in companies like NALCO and OMC for enhancing the Bhubaneswar center of IIT Kharagpur.